The Game’s Afoot – Sherlock Holmes Solves Shoreline’s Mystery

Bring out your detective gear and help solve a murder with Shoreline’s Sherlock Holmes in The Game’s Afoot.

Set in the early 1900s, The Game’s Afoot is a terrifying comedy that tells the tale of a real-life character, William Hooker Gillette.

Gillette was a triple threat; he didn’t just act, he also directed and wrote plays.

In the late 1930s, the New York Times considered him “the best American actor.” He is said to have acted without emotions but still imparted a great impact when he took on a role.

He adapted the Sherlock Holmes novels written, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, into plays where he took on the role of the detective himself. The Sherlock Holmes plays ran all over the country for about 20 years.

He is best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the early 20th century. The audience started to think of him as the detective himself, and eventually even he started to believe it as well.

Gillette made so much money over the course of the plays that he ended up building himself a real life castle in Connecticut. It’s called the Gillette castle and still exists to this day.

The story of The Game’s Afoot mostly takes place in this very castle. Other than himself and the castle, the other characters and the plot are completely fictional.

In the story, Gillette has to solve a murder case that took place in his castle on a Christmas Eve among his fictional Sherlock Holmes cast. Though it is scary, the story is saturated with humor.

The Game’s Afoot not only entertains but it informs the audience of the historical context of the play.

Bryar Golden, a faculty member from the Theatre and Film Department, is directing this story.

The casting process started at the end of September and rehearsal started on the first of October.

By the end of October, the cast was in the middle of the blocking process in rehearsal. According to Golden, “It’s been going beautifully.”

There are nine roles in the play and all the roles are occupied by Shoreline students. But the actors aren’t the only ones involved in the show; the play has various support staffers that are crucial to the performance.

This play is a “challenge” for the actors, Golden said.

For this play, Golden mentioned that her job is made so much easier due to “the focus and talent everyone is giving.”

“It’s a good thing for audience to come in and forget everything else that’s going on and just enjoy an evening of theater,” Golden said.

“This is just an exciting play that everyone should watch,” she added, “With this play, the audience enters Gillette’s world with the actors.”

The audience will also be working on the case along with the actors. What better way to forget about your finals than to solve a murder with Sherlock Holmes?

It’s certainly the show to catch this December, right here in Shoreline. Watch and immerse yourself in laughter and horror with the cast of The Game’s Afoot.

The show will be opening in two weeks on Dec. 2. It will be playing the whole weekend and the weekend after. Contact John Nold at [email protected] for further information regarding the play.